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And the Children Shall Lead (episode)
A group of children on the distant Federation outpost Triacus are possessed by an evil spirit that convinces them to kill their parents and then commandeer the Enterprise. Summary The ''Enterprise'' arrives to investigate occurrences on the Federation outpost Triacus, where Captain Kirk discovers all of the people on the outpost have mysteriously committed mass suicide. Even more oddly, the group of children on Triacus seem totally oblivious to the event, continuing to play games as if nothing has happened. Kirk has the children beamed aboard the Enterprise, where they react with hostility to any questioning about what happened to their parents. When the children are left to themselves, they chant and an ancient alien claiming to be an angel appears, congratulating them on their good work for getting rid of the adults on Triacus and telling them that they must take control of the Enterprise and make way for Marcos XII. The children, with the alien's help, are able to exercise psychological control over adults. With this they manage to make Sulu, Chekov, Uhura, Scotty, several other crewmen, and even Spock for a short time go along with their command of the ship, employing various methods. For example, at first Sulu, Chekov, and Uhura believe that they can see Triacus on the viewscreen, even though they are no longer orbiting the planet; after Kirk makes them realize that this is not true, Sulu believes that they cannot alter course because if they do the ship will be destroyed by the rings of swords they are "flying" through. This comes to a climax when Chekov and two security personnel corner Kirk and Spock, telling them that Starfleet has ordered their arrest; when Kirk resists, Chekov threatens to shoot him. Luckily, they are able to subdue the delusional men through a few well-placed nerve pinches and some more traditional fighting. Kirk and Spock return to the bridge, where they summon the alien themselves by replaying a recording of the children's chant, and then challenge him. They show the children footage of themselves on Triacus, playing with their parents, and the children suddenly realize what they have done and begin to cry. Without their support, the alien is powerless, and fades away. Log entries * [[Captain's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), 2268#The Triacus incident|Captain's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), 2268]] * Starnes Expedition Party log Memorable quotes "How do you like getting ice cream out of a computer?" "That was fun." : - Chapel and Mary on synthesized ice cream. "Hail, hail, fire and snow. Call the angel, we will go. Far away, for to see, friendly Angel come to me. Hail, hail, fire and snow. Call the angel, we will go. Far away, for to see, friendly Angel come to me." : - The children summon Gorgon. "What's wrong?" "I am unable to lock onto the proper coordinates, Captain. It appears we are no longer orbiting Triacus." "That's impossible. If we're not orbiting Triacus... then the men I beamed down... are dead!" "Captain, we are no longer orbiting Triacus." : - Kirk and Spock "Friends, we have reached a moment of crisis. The enemy has discovered our operation. But they are too late. They no longer control the ship, we do. We shall prevail. They will take us anywhere we desire." : - The Gorgan "Captain. Why are we bothering Starfleet?" "That was an order, Spock!" "This bridge is under complete control. There is no need." "Take a look around you." "I cannot obey your order, Captain." : - Spock and Kirk "Take Mr. Sulu to his quarters, he's relieved of duty. Mr. Leslie egdirb hte egdirb kcops. Enifnoc mih ot sretrauq... Egdirb kcops morf eht egdirb! I dias... Ekat Rm Ulus ot sih sretrauq... Evomer tnanetueil uruhu and kcops dna enifnoc meht ot sretrauq! Did you hear me? Did you ''hear me!?" : - '''Kirk', his speech reversed by Tommy Starnes "I've lost command. I've lost the ''Enterprise." : - '''Kirk', in the midst of a panic attack while riding with Spock in the turbolift "Scotty. I want you to override the bridge navigation system. Lay in a course for Starbase 4." "I can't do that, sir!" "Why not!?" "These are very sensitive instruments! I will not have you upset their delicate balance! We would all be lost! Forever lost! Go away, now. Go away or we'll kill you!" : - Kirk and Scotty as Kirk and Spock attempt to take over Auxiliary Control "Captain, so long as the children are present, there is danger. They are the carriers." "Spock, they're not the alien beings. They're children being misled." "They are followers. Without followers, evil cannot spread." "They're children." "Captain, the 430 men and women on board the ''Enterprise and the ship itself are endangered by these children." "''They don't understand the evil that they're doing." "Perhaps that is true, but the evil that is within them is spreading fast, and unless we can find a way to remove it." "We'll have to kill them." : - Spock and Kirk seek a resolution "Captain Kirk!" "What is it, ensign?" "I have been instructed to place you and Mr. Spock under arrest!" "By who's orders?" "Starfleet Command, sir!" : - Chekov and Kirk, with Chekov's mind being controlled "I forbid it." : - The Gorgan, trying to stop Kirk from showing the children pictures of happy times with their parents Background information Production timeline * Story outline by Edward J. Lasko, . * Story outline, . * Story outline, . * Teleplay, . * Teleplay, . * Teleplay, . * First draft script . * Filmed late June 1968 and early July 1968. Story and production * This episode borrows elements and concepts from several sources, including Greek mythology (the ), the old testament (the ), and puritanical/colonial witchery (the s). http://www.fastcopyinc.com/orionpress/articles/and_the_children_shall_lead.htm * It is never explained how Kirk knew to refer to the Friendly Angel as "the Gorgan." Based on early drafts of the script, and in a bit of sloppy editing, episode writer Edward J. Lakso alternated between the various names, explaining why it appeared and stuck so late in the episode. A deleted scene had revealed that Tommy told Kirk the name, however, this scene took place in the script after Kirk used the name. http://www.fastcopyinc.com/orionpress/articles/and_the_children_shall_lead.htm Performers * Brian Tochi is one of a very few actors, along with Phil and Iona Morris in and Clint Howard in , who appeared in TOS as a child and was later cast in one of the new series or movies. Tochi and Pamelyn Ferdin were later reunited on , a live-action Saturday morning television series produced by Filmation which aired on CBS from 1977 to 1979. Sets and props * This episode is the first appearance of the set piece depicting the entrance to the Gorgan's cave. It would be seen again in many third season episodes, including , , and . * The arboretum set was originally built for , but would become a deleted scene due to time constraints. It was later modified for the arboretum that appeared in . http://www.fastcopyinc.com/orionpress/articles/and_the_children_shall_lead.htm * During one scene on the bridge, Kirk tries to give orders to Mr. Leslie, but his words are garbled. If the audio for this scene is played in reverse, Kirk can be heard to say, "Remove Lieutenant Uhura and Mr. Spock from the bridge. Confine them to quarters. Did you hear me? Take Mr. Sulu to his quarters. He's relieved of duty. Remove Lieutenant Uhura and Mr. Spock from the bridge. Confine them to quarters. Take Mr. Sulu to his quarters, I said. (garbled) Mr. Spock from the bridge. Confine him to quarters. Mr. Leslie, take Mr. Sulu to his quarters. He's relieved of duty." * The attire worn by the children in this episode was designed by William Ware Theiss. Original sketches of the "playsuits" worn by Tommy, Don and Steve appeared in the Star Trek: The Original Series Sketchbook (pg. 155) * The dresses worn by the two female members of the Starnes Expedition Party were also created by Theiss, and were previously worn by Janet Wallace in . (Star Trek: The Original Series Sketchbook, pg. 135) Continuity * This is the only episode of the original series in which we see the fully fledged United Federation of Planets flag. Previous appearances, such as , simply used the pre-existing flag. Apocrypha * In James Blish's novelization of this episode, Sulu is terrified by the sight of missiles on the viewscreen, not swords. Video and DVD releases *Original US Betamax release: . * UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 31, catalogue number VHR 2383, . * US VHS release: . * UK re-release (three-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 3.2, . * Original US DVD release (single-disc): Volume 30, . * As part of the TOS Season 3 DVD collection. Links and references Starring * William Shatner as Capt. Kirk Also starring * Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock :And: * DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy Co-starring * Craig Hundley as Tommy Starnes :And: * James Wellman as Professor Starnes :And: * Melvin Belli as Gorgan * James Doohan as Scott * Majel Barrett as Nurse Chapel * Nichelle Nichols as Uhura * George Takei as Sulu * Walter Koenig as Chekov * Pamelyn Ferdin as Mary * Caesar Belli as Steve * Mark Robert Brown as Don * Brian Tochi as Ray * Louie Elias as 1st Technician Uncredited co-stars * Paul Baxley as Freeman * William Blackburn as Hadley * Frank da Vinci as Vinci * Dick Dial as Security Guard #2 * Roger Holloway as Roger Lemli * Jay Jones as 2nd Technician * Jeannie Malone as a yeoman * Eddie Paskey as Leslie * Unknown performers as the two female and three male members of the Starnes Exploration Party. References angel; anxiety; Auxiliary Control; bacteria; bee; bridge-control monitor; bridge monitor screen; bridge navigation system; cherry; child specialist; chocolate; chocolate wobble; coconut; cyalodin; Epsilon Indi system; evaluation laboratory; Federation; fire; food card;freeze tag; Friendly Angel; food synthesizer; general; God; ice cream; Lacunar amnesia; Marcos XII; mass suicide; medical officer; mental depression; peach; pistachio; population; professor; scientist; snow; Starbase 4; Starfleet Command; Starnes Exploration Party; "Ring Around the Rosie"; Starfleet; suicidal anxiety; swarm; tape; Triacus; Triacus marauders; United Federation of Planets (UFP); vanilla; Wilkins External links * *"And the Children Shall Lead" review at The Agony Booth |next= |lastair= |nextair= |lastair_remastered= |nextair_remastered= }} Category:TOS episodes de:Kurs auf Markus 12 es:And the Children Shall Lead fr:And the Children Shall Lead nl:And the Children Shall Lead